Worth More Than Five Dollars
by heythatsmean
Summary: Sayaka had been lucky enough to arrive home dry after running through the rain. Maybe things were really about to get better, except for the fact that when she checked her pockets, her wallet was nowhere to be found. Meanwhile, in the other side of town, a certain redhead smiled mischievously at the newfound object in her hands. "Now, this could be useful.." (no magic AU)
1. Chapter 1

Sayaka groaned while laying her head on the supermarket cart. She had been waiting in line for what seemed like hours, and this was just the line to buy cheese. The worst thing was she had only crossed about half the names in her groceries list.

The supermarket was full of people who where buying stuff for the star festival preparations. She on the other hand wanted something as simple as dinner but had to put up with the eternal lines and obnoxious crowd.

It had been a week since she had started living in her own apartment. Her parents gave her some money to pay the first months of rent and buy some food, until she had enough money to take care of herself. While she wasted her time in the store she couldn't help but feel a bit jealous, they were probably sipping on tropical drinks in a white sand beach or something along those lines.

The past weeks had been nothing but trouble, trying out for interviews to get a job at the same time she studied for all the upcoming exams. She was a senior now after all, though she had no idea where she was going with her life or which college to enter. For now she threw newspapers every morning, but the salary was not that generous and she needed much much more if she wanted to maintain herself.

The line moved only a step forward and her impatience got the best of her. _Fuck cheese, I'm ok with some soup or microwave pizza_. She grabbed the first instant lunch soup she found and proceeded to make her way towards the cashier. _Finally, I'm out of here_. Her thoughts went crushing down as she stared in disbelief at the next line that awaited her.

As she waited for her turn tapping her feet in annoyance, a random guy stood by the entrance and waved his hands to catch the crowd's attention. "It's already eight and it's about to rain, sorry but ill have to close early" he said in an apologetic tone.

She was finally able to pay, but as the clerk stuffed her food in a bag she looked outside and realized the shop owner was right, it was already drizzling. How was she supposed to walk home in this rain?. Using the bags as some sort of cheap umbrella she prepared herself to run, reviewing the distance she had to cover in her mind.

She hastily ran outside being careful not to slip. Her apartment was just a few blocks away so hopefully her clothes wouldn't be completely soaked when she arrived.

What she failed to see was that in her rash exit she had dropped her wallet.

* * *

An unemployed red head rambled through Mitakihara's streets with no place to go whatsoever. She was wearing a mint green hoodie, which was covered in dust, since she couldn't remember the last time she had payed a visit to the laundry. To top it off her fiery hair was tied in a wild ponytail, and her backpack had more than a couple of holes here and there.

She wondered if she looked like a homeless girl. Though right now that's what she was.

Taking a squared box out of her pocket with "pocky" printed on it, she slided the lit open and happily placed one of the chocolate biscuits in her mouth. Her eyes gave away how tired she was, due to sleeping less than four hours, but her appetite remained as unweary as ever.

She narrowed her eyes at a candy store few streets away and proceeded to delve in her back pockets in search of money. Her eyes shot open in panic as she came face to face with her empty wallet.

"Aw man what am i gonna do?" she whined, kicking the nearest thrash can in rage.

She had a tiring morning. Waking up early was enough of a punishment for her, but getting kicked out of her own apartment was a step too far. She was aware of all the debts she had to pay, and she honestly planned to pay every last cent. But it seemed that her landlord wasn't as patient, and knew that Kyouko was going nowhere with her promises of paying the rent in time.

Pissed off, she had managed to "burrow" some money from the receptionist while she returned some calls. But after buying the necessary stuff like food and a toothbrush she was now broke for the second time that day.

Kyouko muttered some curses under her breath earning disapproving glances from near passers-by. As she tried to avoid looking at the candy store, the sound of thunder startled her. She looked up, fearing that for once the weather forecast had been right. And it was right. Grey clouds completely covered the sky, leaving no clear space for sunshine to get through. She could feel the temperature falling as droplets started to stain her clothes.

"Great" she sarcastically complained, while pulling the hoodie over her head. She was forced to fasten her pace as the concrete floors started to get slippery with the nearing storm.

She skipped through the alleys hoping to find some kind of temporary shelter, until she abruptly stopped. There, laying near a convenience store, like a work from heaven, was a wallet. A lonely, lonely wallet.

She quickly ran towards it bent down to grab it. Ignoring the suspicious glances she was receiving from the shop owner, she gave him a sheepish smile and got out of there as fast as she could.

The leather was soaking wet, not a surprise seeing as the rain was about to become some kind of flood. She didn't waste much time until she found shelter in a little covered place near some abandoned railways.

She enthusiastically opened the damp wallet praying that if there was any money inside it was still in usable condition. Trying to be as careful as she could possibly muster while opening the treasure, she smirked when she saw some green paper sliding through one of the pockets. But she quickly grimaced as she counted the bills.

"One, two, five dollars" She proceeded to count again and again not being able to believe in her unluckiness. "You have to be fucking kidding me!" she shouted while resting her head in her hands, hiding the tears that were threatening to fall. Things couldn't get any worse, she was sleeping in the street for god's sake!

After her outburst she lay out her back on a wall and let out a disappointed sigh. "Seriously, I'm a total mess"

She tried to get herself comfortable, this was far from being the best place to camp, but its not like she had a choice. As she opened her backpack to get some of her remaining snacks, she realized she was still in possession of the wallet and made a motion to throw it out, after taking the money that is.

But as she was about to let go of her grasp, something plastic called her attention. "Oh, what is this?" she mischievously smiled, her fangs slightly showing. There were three cards in the pocket, and two of them where credit cards, much to Kyouko's admiration. "This could be useful" she muttered, suddenly feeling hopeful about her situation.

She stuffed them securely on her backpack and took a look at the remaining card. It was an ID. In the picture there was a blue haired girl about her age, Kyouko thought. Her gaze was fixated for quite some time, when she realized what she had been doing, she shook her head embarrassedly as she felt her cheeks turning slightly red.

"Sorry for stealing from you, but its not my fault you were stupid enough to lose your stuff" She threw the card far, where it landed in the soaked earth.

She still couldn't shake this feeling of guilt though, that maybe she could've tried to give the wallet back. She tried to ignore it as she rolled over and closed her eyes to get her deserved sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Rikka: :D glad you like it! hope you enjoy the story, ill try and update as soon as i can**

**Guest: thx, hope you enjoy the story too!**

**P6006873: im pretty new in the world of writing so im glad i was able to capture their personalities right, thx for the review**

**kyosayalove: that's Kyouko for you xD**

**Amerikajin: thx for pointing that out, i guess i just wrote the first thing that came to my mind! i changed it to the star festival so now it makes sense.**

**Finally, thanks to anyone who takes the time to read this story and for the reviews too! Hope you enjoy this as much as i enjoyed writing it, and without further ado i bring you the second chapter!**

* * *

Kyouko had woken up in a good mood, regarding the fact she had to use the floor as a bed. With not one, but two credit cards in her power she felt like a millionaire. She had been daydreaming about how amazing her future mansion was going to be, with chocolate fountains to dip snacks in and her own personal servants. Until it dawned on her, what if the credit cards didn't have any cash on them?

She couldn't enter a bank casually and ask about the balance. What if they asked for any information? after all she was completely clueless about the blue haired girl. Thinking back, she regretted not having the id in her possession. Looking at the positive side, this way her chances of getting caught weren't as high.

G_ood enough, guess I'll just go buy something and find out for myself_. She decided while thinking about the shop she had seen the day before.

After requesting some directions and getting lost for a minute, she found herself standing in front of the candy store. She could only glue her face in the window and stare at all the tasty sweets. The best thing was, now she was able to buy them! Her mouth watered in anticipation as she pushed the entrance door, after trying to pull it a couple of times that is.

First she tried to control her appetite and buy a sample of everything, naturally her plan failed and she ended up carelessly shoving about 10 bags of candy in her cart.

As she approached the checkout line she felt a bit concerned. What if she got caught?, was she walking straight into two years of prison without a care in the world?

"You, the kid over there, it's your turn" the clerk's voice startled her out of her dreadful thoughts. She threw all the merchandise on the counter, noticing how the cashier frowned bitterly. She didn't seem that fond of her job.

"Credit card or effective?" her raspy voice startled her for the second time. _Ok Kyouko this is it, remember, all you have to do is play it cool_. She kept repeating the last three words as a mantra to try and make them stick.

"Credit card" she answered, her voice oozing with confidence. "Might I add, you look great today!" she winked at the woman, who only seemed to get more annoyed by each passing second going to waste with the red haired girl.

She held out a hand to receive the card, ignoring Kyouko's compliment completely. The redhead took the first card she could find and handed it over. "Here you go!" she said, making an effort to smile warmly.

After what seemed like years of clicking and typing, the cashier looked at her even more pissed off than before."This is expired".

_Calm down, you still have another shot_. "Oh, sorry about that" she apologized, handing the other card while crossing her fingers. _Please work, please work_

"Name?" the woman eyed her suspiciously. Kyouko tried her best to make out the blurry images she still had of the id.

"Um… Seyaka?" she answered with a question instead of an answer.

The woman clicked three times more and then looked at her with a raised eye brow. "You mean Sayaka?" _Shit. Think of something, fast!._ After debating with herself, she internally let out a sigh of relief as she came up with what she hoped was the best excuse of the century.

"Yup!, I'm very sorry, it's my Australian accent I still can't seem to fix it completely y'know?" Watching the woman's unconvinced glare, she briskly added "Mate!"

The woman sighed at what she could guarantee was the weirdest girl to set a foot in this store. She probably didn't even know where Australia was. Still, she couldn't care less about what was going on.

"Next!" she ordered in a monotone voice after giving Kyouko the bill. The girl noticed it had a 2, or was it a 5? Followed by a couple of zeros, but threw it away at the first opportunity she had.

She went through the exit with a satisfied smirk across her face. "Nailed it!".

* * *

Sayaka had a horrible morning. It all started last night when she had to run back towards the supermarket, just to find a "closed" sign staring back at her and the wallet nowhere to be found. When she came back her hair was soaked, she had planned to dry it, but it seems she had fallen asleep the second she sat on the sofa.

Now she had a huge headache, and the instant soup she bought was not making it go away. _Actually this tastes kind of weird_. Taking the soup in closer inspection, she came to a realization. It was expired.

_This is so not my day_. She lazily sat up and after washing her mouth throughly she put on the first jacket she found. She would go to the supermarket and ask for a refund later, but now her main priority was the wallet.

If she remembered right she had three credit cards, the one she had used at the start of the year; which shouldn't even work by now, the one she normally used and the one her father gave her as a present.

With her newest card in her hands, her face drained out of color as she realized what this meant. Her father was going to kill her! That is if she didn't die of hunger before. At this time the store opened, is she went there now she could check if any of the employees had found it.

As she entered the store, the first person she saw was a blond girl with curls, who was fixing some fallen boxes in the halls.

"Um.. Hello?" she sheepishly interrupted the girl's work.

"Oh hi there, trying out for the new job?" she asked, looking at the bluenette with her head tilted to the side.

"No, actually I was wondering if you had seen a wallet around here" she asked while motioning at the entrance.

"No sorry we haven't found any lost items in a long time" the blonde looked slightly apologetic. Sayaka was disappointed with the answer, but then something else called her attention.

"Wait, you said there was a job available?" The girl seemed to perk up at the mention.

"Yes, it's yours if you want it!"

"As simple as that?" It's not that Sayaka didn't want to take on the offer, but it seemed kind of odd, were they seriously that determined to find an applicant?

"I know it's rushed, but the position's been open for months and somebody has yet to show up"

Sayaka lit up, this was exactly the opportunity she needed. "Ok then, I'm in"

"Perfect!" The girl said with a friendly smile "I'm Mami by the way"

"Oh, I'm Sayaka" she held a hand out. Mami happily shook it.

"Well Sayaka, welcome to the store, I'm the manager here, all I have to do is tell the shop owner someone took the job and it's official" she resumed her work by cleaning the shelves with a cloth "You may start working at noon if you wish"

"Ok then" she turned around and exited the store, being careful to look to the sides if the wallet decided to magically appear any second from now. Sure she didn't find the wallet as she was supposed to, but at least now she had a job.

As she followed the road back to her apartment she sighed at the site of a redhead carrying about ten bags of clothes and food, tripping every two seconds. _Poor girl, I bet she's going to end up broke._

* * *

Sayaka's job was pretty easy. There were still a lot of people around like last night, but at least now she wasn't the one stuck in the lines.

Without her father's money she would be running out of cash in a few weeks. So she did her best packing bags to try and be as fast as she could. She wasn't getting payed that much, but thankfully all the tips she earned went to her savings. _Still, three dollars won't buy what I would call the best dinner. _

"The cereal in aisle 9 is scattered all over the floor, someone please go and clean the mess" she heard an unamused voice talking through the loudspeaker. She wondered if accidents like this happened all the time. _Who is the one that cleans when they happen anyways?_

Her question was quickly answered when none of the employees moved, instead they looked at her expectantly. Sayaka put away the money she had been counting moments ago, and sighing defeatedly made her way towards aisle 9.

The place was a total mess. Apparently some kid thought it would be funny to open the cereal boxes and hurl them randomly, leaving the floor covered in a rainbow of colorful corn flakes. Using a broom she tidied up until she was convinced there was not a single crumb left.

"We're closing in thirty more minutes" she heard the man in the speaker announce.

Sayaka wasn't that good at math; however, she knew that even with the night's fee she wouldn't be able to buy much, and she really wished to eat normally for once. _Wait, they still owe me a refund_. But a look at the refund line was enough to stop her.

Her eyes wandered to the cheese area and an idea struck her. It was against everything she morally believed in and she knew it was wrong, but desperate times where desperate times. She had cleaned the whole place after all! _And they also tried to poison me_. She looked at the soup in her hands while trying to take a decision. Her starving stomach won the argument.

_Now, this is something I never saw myself doing_. She casually approached the dairy section and warily grabbed a piece of the cheapest cream cheese, hiding it in her pocket. Then she went back to the checkout with an innocent look in her face, resuming her work.

She recognized the redhead from before walking around the aisles, who noticing her gaze hastily hid behind one of the walls. Was Sayaka attracting creeps or what?

On the other side of the shelve Kyouko was about to have a stroke in the middle of the supermarket. _Crap, she's here! What if she founds out who I am!_

After being sure Sayaka was not in the cashiers position, she got on line. She was paying when she suddenly heard the other girl's voice behind her.

"Need any help packing your stuff?" she casually offered. Kyouko hurriedly hid the credit card before the bluenette could take a good look at it.

"Sure, thanks" she replied with a nod, after all she had bought tons of food. _With this girl's money_. She heard a voice nag at the back of her head. As a consequence she started feeling guilty, really guilty. The girl was working at a groceries store, and she was stealing from her! In her face!

Suddenly she noticed the not-so-well hidden cream cheese in Sayaka's pocket. _Woah, she really is hopeless_. Kyouko wasn't much of a generous person, but without thinking it twice she offered one of the bags to the bluenette.

"Here have this, I was having some people over tonight but they're not coming" she lied while giving Sayaka a bento box. The other girl looked questioningly at her. "Why?" she muttered.

Kyouko smirked "You have to be pretty troubled to steal cheese" she pointed out, being careful to lower her voice so the cashier wouldn't hear them.

Sayaka blushed furiously while covering the stolen item with her apron. "Look, I don't need your food, I can take care of myself" The truth is, she was dying to eat some bento, but she was not going to let a complete stranger treat her like some kind of charity pool.

But the redhead was already leaving, having left the bento on top of the counter. She turned around one last time scratching the back of her neck embarrassedly "Oh, and sorry about the cereal, I kind of… tripped"

Sayaka rolled her eyes. _So it hadn't been a kid after all_. But then looking at the bento box by her side she slightly smiled. She would have a normal dinner tonight.


	3. Chapter 3

**Well, here's the third chapter! Again, thanks to everyone who took the time to comment, follow, and favorite. And for the views too!**

**VoyeourTheNinja: Thx! glad your enjoying it, and i´ll try to be more careful with commas, since English is not my native language im still getting used to placing them correctly. And i guess you're right, they are idiots xD , but thats what i love about them! Thankyou for the follow and favorite too! This is my first fanfiction, so things like this make me really happy :p and im glad you pointed out the AU thing, i forgot to mention that.**

**Oh, and im sorry, but next chapter will come out pretty late. Im leaving the city for a week tomorrow, and the place where i´ll go has no wifi, plus i won't have my computer with me, but i´ll try and write some first drafts on my phone though :D **

* * *

Sayaka was having an awful hard time trying to compensate for her debts. She had been planning on mentioning the credit card "incident" to her father, but the mere thought of how he was going to react, was enough to keep her from dialing his number.

She couldn't picture him being completely outraged, since in rare occasions she had seen her father mad. But he would probably be disappointed, and then she would hear her mother in the background, telling him how she had insisted it was a bad idea to leave her alone. And then the subject of school would come up, and she would have no excuse for the way her grades had dropped.

She had scored an extremely low result on her last exam. With her part time job at the supermarket, and newspaper delivering two days a week, she didn't have any time left to focus on her studies. And the situation was not looking brighter any sooner. Since she had been struggling with the month's rent, she was forced to find a new job at a pizza parlor on weekends.

Mami had heard about her troubles and had offered her some money, which she could pay back after this whole mess was fixed. But she agreed with herself to politely decline any kind of help from other people, she had gotten into this herself and was planning to get out alone.

Sayaka was jolted awake from the sofa, hitting her head with the lamp. The sound of her phone vibrating had startled her, since she had fallen asleep with it on her pocket.

_When did I fall asleep?_ She sat up confused, soothing her pounding head. She checked the hour, leaning back in relief when she realized it was six pm, meaning she still had more or less about half an hour to get ready for her job as a waitress.

The problem was she first had to get on her feet, and standing up was the last thing she wanted to do. Her bones ached, begging her to rest her head in her warm pillow, and close her eyes for five more minutes. But she stopped herself before she would fall asleep again, she had to go if she wanted to keep having a roof on top of her head.

She got dressed with casual clothes; jeans and a gray sweater, and combed her hair slightly, just so it wouldn't seem as she had slept all day, though that was exactly what she had done.

Turning on the tv, she went to the kitchen and microwaved some coffee she had made earlier. Sure, reheated coffee was not the most luxurious thing in the world, but the extra effort wasted in making a new one was too much to ask for.

Surfing through channels, she settled to watch the news, and then checked on the weather forecast, which announced drizzling later. But the accuracy of the weather channel was not known for being the greatest, so she took an umbrella with her, just in case the "mild drizzling" would turn out to be the equivalent of downpour. She started walking towards the diner, using her phone for directions. She had never owned a car, so she was used to taking the bus or going by feet if she ever had the need.

The restaurant was different from what she expected. It was pretty modest, a not-too-big property with no standing out decorations. Just a tacky wooden sign with the word "pizza" printed on it in black, worn out letters, nothing too classy. At all.

As she pushed the door open, she was genuinely surprised to find the place crowded, every table was occupied, and there even was a line for reservations all the way to the entrance. Her amusement was quickly replaced by a scowl. More people meant more work.

She proceeded to approach the counter, where a girl welcomed her and pointed towards the kitchen, there they were going to tell her what to do. _Let's hope is not much work_. She thought tiredly, the truth is she just wanted to go home, and relax reading a good book.

In the kitchen the cooks were running around, hands full of work. She could smell the variety of spices and toppings they used, as she watched in awe as some guy in white tossed pizza dough in the air, making it spin. Just then, a pink-haired girl approached her, carrying a tray full of glasses with both hands. She was wearing some kind of pink and white dress, which Sayaka guessed was the uniform. The girl slightly tumbled to the side, giving the impression she was about to fall, but was able to regain her composure before the glasses could find a chance to slip.

"Hi, your the new girl right?" she smiled friendlily, to which Sayaka nodded "Could you take this to table four?" she asked while carefully handing the tray to Sayaka.

"Sure, when I'm done with this, do I take their orders?" She asked, cringing slightly when the she felt the tray weighted more than what she thought it would.

"Hmm" The girl agreed with a notebook in her mouth, since in the blink of an eye she had already grabbed two trays more, one on each hand. She placed the tray with plates on top of the other one, taking the notebook in one of her hands so she could speak clearly. "Oh, and call me Madoka, come to me if you need any help"

"Ok, thanks" Noticing how the girl was having trouble with the plates, she added "Need any help with that?"

"Umm" She fidgeted trying to get the trays in the right position "No, don't worry about me" she finally answered, managing to take hold of the situation.

Sayaka shrugged and left the kitchen, walking towards the table where the costumers were waiting. She didn't have the uniform on, but carrying the trays made it clear she was an employee. As the family thanked her, she heard a least five different voices and saw about three hands being raised to call her attention.

This was going to be a long, long night.

* * *

Kyouko's stomach grumbled, claiming to be fed. She had been lazing around her hotel room all day, watching tv, napping and complaining to no one in particular about how hungry she was.

Feeling guilty, she decided it was time to stop using the credit card, she had already spent all the money it came with, so now she was adding debts to the other girl's balance each time she purchased something.

That's why she had cut out on snacking, and she had only payed one more night at the hotel. That meant tomorrow she was going to be homeless again, and she would have to work for money. _Who would even think about working for money?_

She rolled over in the bed she was slacking in, staring at the wallet resting in her nightstand. _One more dinner is not that expensive…_

She shook her head vigorously, controlling the urge to spend more money. She sighed while lying on her back, arms behind her head. She was doing the right thing by not using the card, but she was still hungry.

_Wait…_ She sat up and grabbed the wallet _If i remember right, there was also effective on here_. She smiled broadly as she confirmed it was indeed true, the five dollars on effective where still there. She had been so distracted with the credit cards she had never actually used them.

She moved her fists in triumph, and grabbing the bills swiftly made her way to the main door. She had no time to waste in looking presentable, after all she didn't even care.

Motivated only by her starving stomach, she hastily left the hotel, shivering at the sudden change of temperature. She asked directions for the nearest diner, until she was finally standing in front of a pizza parlor. Her mouth was aching to taste the melted cheese and fresh tomato sauce, awaiting only a few steps away. Right now she felt like the happiest girl on earth.

And then she opened the door. The place was busy, flooded with families and couples flooding the tables, but she was not letting something like that stop her.

She started slipping through the people in line, randomly mumbling "excuse me" and "sorry" from time to time. She heard a few complaints and rude remarks, but she chose to ignore them as she made her way towards the reservation desk pushing people aside.

"How much time for an available table?" she got straight to the point, resting her hands on the wooden desk.

The woman frowned at the girl, who had literally left a mess behind her, where the crowd she had worked so hard to keep aligned was now dispersed. The costumers were pushing each other around, fighting about who was going first.

Her gaze went back to the girl, who was looking back questioningly at her. "I'll take about thirty minutes"

"Oh, i guess i can wait that much" the redhead shrugged. The woman then pretended to check the reservations again.

"Actually, it'll be an hour and a half" noticing the girl's sullen change in mood, she added "…or two"

Kyouko wondered why she never seemed to get along with employees.

She was about to make her way back to the entrance, when a black-haired girl sitting on one of the tables, called her attention. _I know her from somewhere… was her name Homura? Or something like that_. Then it clicked, she had gone to the same school as Kyouko, but then she had transferred the same year Kyouko dropped out.

She saw as a pink-haired waitress approached her, and they started talking as she sat by her side. Homura seemed to be embarrassed, and Kyouko suppressed a chuckle. _How cute, she's trying to get a girlfriend._

Distracted, she didn't realize when a certain bluenette bumped into her, until she heard the noise of plates shattering. She was about to shout something rude when she recognized the girl that had tripped. She held out a hand to Sayaka, who thought hesitated, before holding it and getting back on her feet, shaking pieces of glass from her sweater.

"Im sorry, I wasn't looking and…" before she could muster an apology, Kyouko was interrupted by a short and fat man, who by the expression of his face was furious. The redhead took a few steps back when he started to randomly yell in italian.

When he finally seemed to calm down, he turned around to face Sayaka, who had been helping Madoka pick up the broken ceramic pieces which were covering the floor.

Sayaka seeing where this was going, picked up the tray and sighed. "Look, I'm sorry, I´ll leave now"

The man opened his mouth to start shouting again, but closed it. He nodded and turned around, while the people's attention drifted again, and the place seemed to get lost in noisy conversation.

Kyouko approached the bluenette, who looked devastated. "We should probably leave" the girl whispered.

Kyouko nodded as they both left the parlor. Outside, Sayaka sat on the nearest bench, hiding her face in her hands. "I can't believe i blew up this job on my first day"

Kyouko sat beside her "Don't be so hard on yourself, plus it was my fault" she said, the feeling of guilt coming back.

"Sorry" she whispered looking at the other girl, who just shrugged.

"Whatever, in wasn't that great of a job anyways" The statement should´ve made Kyouko feel better, but she found herself feeling even worse. _If it weren't for my selfishness, the girl would´t even have to be working here._

Kyouko regretted the day she had found the wallet. Sure, she was surrounded by food and could finally pay an hotel where she could stay as much as she wanted, but looking at the depressed girl by her side, she felt awful, worthless.

Stealing was nothing new to her. She had been stealing since she was a kid, sneaking through markets trying to get the juiciest apple she could find, or distracting customers to get ahold of their stuff. She'd never felt any kind of thing before, but now the guilt was eating her inside.

She felt Sayaka leaning against her shoulder. She jerked at the sudden contact, looking away while blushing scarlet. But then relaxed at the warm feeling of the other girl's body. Between her feelings of remorse, she had a hopeful idea. Maybe she could still repair the situation, find a way to give her the money back. After all some stores did accept refunds, and she could still sell some of her new clothes to a second hand store or something. _Still, she wouldn´t accept money just like that._

"I need a place to stay, and all the hotels near are fully booked" Sayaka, suddenly realizing how close she had gotten to the other girl, pushed herself slightly to the side. Kyouko glowered at the sudden loss of warmth, but kept talking. "If you need money, I'm willing to pay for a room" Feeling hesitation in the other girl she added "Only if you want to, or you have any room that is" she said while rubbing the back of her neck.

Sayaka thought about the offer. This girl had already helped her before with the bento, so after all she wasn't a bad person, plus the money would do a lot of good now that she was fired. "It's ok if you don't want to" Kyouko repeated, thinking she had made the unresponsive girl uncomfortable. _Well played Kyouko, now you freaked her out._

Just as the redhead was about to leave, Sayaka grabbed her sleeve. "Ok, I accept, but you'll have to sleep in the sofa since I don´t have another bed" Kyouko was relieved to see it had worked.  
"Yeah, fine by me" she nodded. Maybe now she would be able to get things fixed. Sayaka stood up beside her and motioned for her to follow "I'll show you were my place is"

"Oh and my name is Sayaka by the way" Kyouko aleady knew that, but it would be a bit creepy if she said that out loud. _No, it would be very creepy, just keep yourself from talking._

"Well, I'm Kyouko" Feeling how it slowly started drizzling, she followed after the other girl who was carrying an umbrella with her. "Hey, wait for me!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for my tardiness, but I just got back from vacations and my teachers had the great idea of flooding us with tests. The thing is I finally finished chapter 4. The truth is I wanted to make a really short story (this was supposed to be the last update) to finish it quickly and move to other idea's i have. Then my computer died and the chapter was erased. And as i wrote it again i decided to make it longer, so expect about 10 chapters total :D. My computer has yet to be fixed i_i but at least something good came out of it!**

**RamenMaintenance: Im really glad your enjoying it! The capitalization was because of the computer im using now which doesn't have a spelling checker, still i should probably learn to capitalize them by myself :P. And comma usage is my weakness i try and still can't seem to get them all quite right xD. Anyways, thanks for the follow!**

**Danielwain: In my country it isn't that easy to steal money from a credit card either, i should've put some thought on that from my part. Also,i totally forgot that Sayaka would go to the bank, basically that's the first thing you do when you lose a card, but really thanks a ton for pointing it out! in this chapter i tried my best to fix that mistake by making her go. It wasn't the best way i could've done it though, since it came out rushed. About honorifics, i didn't pay attenttion to them, maybe when i rewrite this i'll change it. As for Kyouko's money i'll guess she'll just have to do a bunch of crazy stuff to get at least half of it back, and if she ever got caught she would be in a lot of trouble and that's with the police. And don't worry about your comment coming across as hateful!, it's the exact opposite since it actually helps me to learn from my mistakes, so that way i'll (hopefully) not repeat them again. Your review was extremely helpful, so thanks a lot for taking the time to write it, hope you keep reading this story! i'll try my best from now on :)**

**YuzuYuri19: Yup! there's no way im abandoning this story, even if im really lazy sometimes. Glad you liked it! and i'll try to keep it up, thanks!**

**Finally i'll like to say thanks (again xD) for all the reviews, follows, and favorites! And reaching 1000 views! So here's the 4 chapter, i'll try and be quick with the next update!**

* * *

Kyouko rose up slowly, remembering as she opened her eyes that she was staying at Sayaka's apartment.

The first thing she realized was that she hadn't slept half as bad as she had expected from crushing on a couch. For some reason, it had turned out to be way more comfortable than her hotel bed, and that was good news because she needed some refreshing sleep.

"This couch is amazing" she voiced out loud, stretching like a cat as she did so.

"That couch is like the best thing in the whole apartment" she heard Sayaka agree behind her. The bluenette was wearing her school uniform, carrying nothing but a toothbrush in her hand as she entered the small living room.

"School?" Kyouko followed the other girl with her eyes as she managed to brush her teeth at the same time she poured a cup of steaming coffee.

"Hmm" came Sayaka´s muffled reply, her mouth overflowing with minty toothpaste. She spat on the sink, throwing the toothbrush on the dishwasher carelessly. Taking her reused starbucks coffee on one hand she grabbed her bag with the other one.

"That's pretty cheap" Kyouko commented while Sayaka sipped from her cardboard coffee cup. The other girl shrugged dismissively.

"I'd love to stay and chat about coffee cups -which are amazingly economic by the way- but my class is about to start." she took a last minute look in the mirror by the entrance to fix some loose hairs."I left my spare keys on the table if you ever decide to move" Kyouko yawned loudly and then nodded in response.

"I´ll be back at five" Stealing a glimpse at the wall clock, Sayaka snorted "If I'm not spending afternoon in detention that is"

Kyouko leaned her head back, covering herself with a blanket up to the neck "Good luck with that. I´ll nap for a little while" She heard a silent complaint along the lines of 'lucky bastard' as the entrance door closed behind the other girl.

When she was sure her roommate was gone, she languidly sat up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "And there goes my lazy morning. Money doesn't grow in trees after all" Dropping her legs to the side of the couch she replaced her loose tshirt for the tank top on the floor. As she walked past the mirror she muttered a 'good enough' and took the spare keys, throwing them in the air and grabbing them again.

When she arrived at the apartment's reception, she was surprised to hear someone complaining loudly. It was usually peaceful in there except for the occasional kid running around the room for no apparent reason.

"So much to deliver, and the mailman won't come today" a middle aged man with a mustache Kyouko found slightly funny, held a package in his hands "I have no time for this nonsense!" Before he could continue bitching at the porter indefinitely, the redhead came to the rescue.

"I can deliver it for ya'. I was making my way to the post office anyways" she offered casually, watching as the porter's expression changed to one of pure relief.

"That would be perfect" he handed the package without a second thought. Before he had the opportunity to disappear out of sight, Kyouko coughed lightly while she held out a hand.

"A lady does favors without expecting anything back" he blatantly ignored her, resuming his walk up the stairs.

"Bad move" she heard the doorkeeper behind her who was suppressing a grin.

"Oh shut up. I saved your ass back there." She studied the package, which despite it's looks didn't weight much. "There's no way I'm delivering this for free"

"Well, if I were you I wouldn't say that again. That man was the building's owner" he couldn't control his laugh anymore as he saw the girl's expression.

Kyouko grunted, walking towards the doorway. "And next time call your wife, because I won't be there to save ya" she heard his laughing getting louder as she left the building.

Getting a good look at the package, she snorted aloud "What is this anyways?" as she shook it she heard cracks, like the sound of crystal breaking. Noticing then the 'fragile' sticker adorning one of it's sides. "Well… I can always blame delivery service"

After leaving the package in the post office, she was making her way home when a familiar white-eared tom crossed her way. He stood by her feet obediently and she leaned down to pet him.

"Hey buddy. I didn't think I would get to see'ya again" the cat meowed in response, like he could truly understand what she was saying. A green haired girl came to as stop in front of her, panting lightly "Is he your cat? He seems to like you"

Kyouko chuckled "Were you chasing him?" the girl nodded sheepishly "He´s very sly. Tried to steal food from my neighbor once. Since that day on I used to feed him my leftovers when he stopped by my building"

Scratching the back of his ear she earned a purr of approval from the feline "It`s been a while you pest" petting his head one last time she stood up again.

"So, kid. What are you doing around here?" she asked the smaller girl who was now pampering the animal.

"I wanted to open a lemonade stand, but those girl scouts stole the block" she pointed at a crowd of people that only seemed to get bigger each time you looked at it.

"Oh, that. I thought they were selling drugs"

"What are drugs?" the girl looked at her expectantly with big, green eyes.

"Umm. Never mind" she shoved her hands in her pockets in search of snacks "Are you planning to do something about it?"

The girl´s expression fell "Not really. They're very popular with the parents around here"

Kyouko smirked as she started chewing on a piece of bubblegum. "Tell you what, kid. I'll help you and we split the money. How does half and half sound?"

The girl's sullen expression lit up instantly "Deal! I'm Yuma by the way"

"Sakura Kyouko. Pleasure to make business with'ya"

This earned a chuckle from Yuma as she pulled the older girl by her sleeve "Let's go set it up" The cat scampered behind them, eager to get his share of leftovers.  
Kyouko laughed at the girl's energy "You got it. We'll need lemons, cups, and a stand"

* * *

Sayaka's day at school had been the definition of draining, not like it was a novelty. She fell asleep in one of the teacher's lectures and lost all sense of concentration in the one's she had miraculously managed to stay awake.

That was not all. An hour of detention had been waiting for her at the end of the day. There was no way she could keep herself from collapsing if she continued arriving late and getting punished over and over again.

But it was now time to go home, so thankfully she had nothing else to worry about. _Except for the goddamn wallet._

Almost a week had passed since the wallet had disappeared and there was still no sign of it. She had been checking the store daily and Mami had promised to keep her eyes open.

She detoured to the store, dragging her backpack behind. It was not surprising to see that the blonde was already there, working hard as she always did. The store had closed early again and Sayaka was pleased to know Mami was the only one there.

"Good afternoon Sayaka. You look exhausted" she said when she saw the sleep deprived girl dragging her feet through the sliding doors.

"And I am" she sat on the counter besides Mami, dropping her bag on the floor. She took an energy bar from one of the shelves beside her while Mami cleaned the cashier carefully.

"What about the wallet? Did you visit the bank?" Mami asked as the cashier opened with a loud ting. "And I guess you're paying for that?" she raised an eyebrow at the chocolate in her hand.

"The… bank?" Sayaka asked absentmindedly as she crunched on the peanut filled candy, a blank expression on her face.  
Mami paused her work to look at the younger girl "Don't tell me you have yet to go"

"I visited the lost and found…" she trailed off, sighing frutratedly. Her head had been so full of other things, she had managed to forget about what was supposed to be her main priority. "I can't believe I didn't think about it before. What would I do without you Mami"

"Of that I'm not sure" the blonde resumed her work "You should get going before they close"

"Your right" Sayaka grabbed her bag "Thanks" she took off running as she dropped some coins on the counter. Mami chuckled to herself. The girl had been pretty out of it lately.

* * *

Crowded places weren't Sayaka's strength, and visiting them was far from being her favorite pastime. It didn't matter where she was or who she was with. There was always a line waiting for her, each one longer than the last.

And that afternoon the bank was no exception to her chain of unluckiness. She had already wasted half and hour standing up. Not to mention, she was the last one in line.

"Next" Making her way towards the counter she found a bored looking girl staring back at her.

"What can I help you with?" she offered in a monotone voice.

"I kind of lost my card some days ago" trying to ignore the 'are you stupid?' look she was receiving from the girl she continued talking "I have the serial code"

The banker sighed "Alright. Something's better than nothing"

Sayaka dictated the number as the girl clicked and typed in a varied pattern. "Uh, someone used you money"

Sayaka got closer to the desk, raising her tone slightly "What?"

"The card was not protected. So, all the thief had to do was walk into a store and spell your name right" she explained with no interest "There are still about ten dollars left though"

Sayaka grunted, annoyed by her mistake. Ten dollars were nothing compared to the original balance in the card "What can I do?"

"You can get the bank to lend you some money, and try to catch the thief"

Sayaka smiled malevolently at her proposal. Whoever had stolen from her was in the wrong page and she was about to make them pay. In her world, there was nothing sweeter than that.

"So, how do I do that?" she was genuinely interested now. About a thousand plans appearing on her head.

"Well, we need some minimal information like where the card was last used. We can track it down from there"

"Perfect! I'll be back tomorrow"

"If you have to. I'll go ahead and cancel the card. You are free to go so I can finally get out of here"

"Thanks!" Sayaka was way to happy to let her mood be affected by hapless college students.

"Whatever" the girl behind the desk mumbled indifferently as she walked away.

Sayaka was in a good mood. She would be sure to catch the thief herself, and teach him a lesson he wouldn't forget. It wasn't about the money anymore, it was way more personal.

Strolling through the streets near her home, she recognized her roommate's signature lock of red hair in the distance.

"Hey" she approached the wooden stand at the same time a satisfied client walked away with a cup of lemonade.

"Hey yourself" Kyouko greeted back, throwing the lemons on top of the table into bags. Yuma peeked from behind the stand.

"Hi!" she greeted as Sayaka did the same. She turned back to Kyouko "Was this the girl you were talking about earlier, Kyouko-san? The one you said was cut-" Kyouko held her hands to the girls mouth, blushing while she laughed nervously. "Ha ha, kids this days huh?"

Sayaka chuckled at her quick witted reaction. She glanced at the sign on top of their heads "Lemonaid? While it's wrongly spelled it does make it sound cute" she said to Yuma.

The little girl shrugged "Kyouko-san was the one who wrote that"

"Oh, really?" Sayaka casted an amused look at Kyouko, who was behind the table throwing the used cups away.

"Well, obviously I did that on purpose" she waved her hands defensively.

"But, when I told you it was spelled "lemonade" you told me it was wrong" Yuma said innocently.

"Well, enough talking, kid" she tried her best not to look embarrassed. "Anyways. We have tons of money, so how 'bout some dinner?"  
Yuma looked down "It's already late, I should be heading back" she noticed the black cat napping besides the table "Can I take him with me?" she asked hopefully.

"I don't see why not" Kyouko said while petting the feline's head. "Well, what about you Miki? Any plans for tonight?"

"I guess there's no harm in tagging along. As long as your paying that is"

"It's decided then! We're going on a date!" Kyouko exclaimed.

"Wait a minute! I never said anything about a date"

* * *

After they clearing the stand and walking aimlessly around town they decided on a four star restaurant. It was quite fancy, thus not cheap, but Kyouko had assured Sayaka that she would be able to pay for it.

The redhead entered the restaurant casually, Sayaka following on tail. It was painfully obvious they didn't belong there. Every single one of the costumers walked around wearing elegant dresses or etiquette tuxedos. And the fact that Kyouko didn't seem to notice made them even more upset.

"A table for two" Kyouko asked the woman near the entrance.

While they talked Sayaka smiled sheepishly and tried to ignore all the eyes resting on her. She felt like an antelope in a room full of prowling lions, with no clue of when they planned to attack.

The receptionist gave them a once-over, visibly unhappy with their middle class looks. But a client was a client. Still, she could've at least made an effort to force a smile. "There's one by the window"

"Thanks" Kyouko grabbed Sayaka by her arm, pulling her through the restaurant.

"We should get out of here" Sayaka muttered as they sat down.

"Nonsense. They can't kick us out. All we have to do is be one with the fancy people" she took the wineglass in front of her and pretended to drink the nonexistent liquid. Raising her pinky as she did so.

Sayaka chuckled at her attempt at class "I don't think that's considered fancy at all"

The waiter arrived and noticing the redhead's actions flashed her a hateful stare. Kyouko kept eye contact and slowly let the wineglass down. "Keep eye contact and don't make any sudden movements" she whispered almost inaudibly. Sayaka rolled her eyes at her roommate's stupidness, but couldn't hide the smile that was drawn on her lips.

He served them water and wrote their orders down. While they waited they didn't find anything to talk about so Kyouko made up a game. They had to find the woman with the most make up on, and in a restaurant like this it was like finding trees on a forest.

"That one!" Kyouko pointed randomly at a woman by the entrance who was facing back.

Sayaka waited for her to turn around, and when she did she almost spat the water she had been drinking "Wow. That is _a lot_ of make up"

The woman noticed their blank stares, and they were forced to look the other way to conceal their brilliant game.

"So, what did you do today?" Kyouko started casual conversation, taking a sip of water from the glass that was now full.

"Not much. Went to school and then took care of some business" she thanked the waiter with a nod when he brought their food. "I'm the one that should be asking that. What were you doing selling lemonade on the street?"

"Well, I needed money"

"And selling lemonade was seriously the only thing you could come up with?" she mocked the other girl.

"Hey, don't judge. We actually made quite a lot of cash"

The redhead turned her attention to the steak. Looking like she was about to wolf it down in one bite.

"If you want us to go unnoticed you should probably eat that slowly" Sayaka raised an eyebrow amusedly at the huge steak she had ordered.

Kyouko huffed, taking one of the many different sized forks. "Believe it or not, my manners are pretty freaking great" The fork in her hand escaped her grasp as she bragged, landing accurately near a fat lady. In perfect synchronization the lady stepped on it, slipping and falling to the floor.

Kyouko stared blankly at what had just happened while Sayaka hid herself with the menu. Nobody seemed to notice exactly where the flying fork came from. Except for the couple in the table besides them, who were glaring at them disapprovingly. As a waiter helped the lady up, she tripped again earning a chuckle from the redhead. She looked at the other girl who was still hiding her face in the menu, trying her best to remain serious. But there was a blatant smile tugging at her lips.

The night went by fast, and Sayaka had to note she felt pretty comfortable by Kyouko's side. She talked enthusiastically and when they laughed they earned cold stares from other tables, but Sayaka couldn't bring herself to care any less.

The waiter brought the bill, interrupting their conversation. The bluenette was the first one to reach for it, cringing at the total sum of money.

She called the other girl's attention by kicking her feet under the table. She lowered her voice so the waiter wouldn't hear them, using the menus as a way of covering their faces "How much money do you have with you?"

"I think about forty dollars. I figured that would be enough" Sayaka resisted the urge to face palm.

"There's no way in hell we can afford this" she hissed.

"It can't possibly be that much" Kyouko took the bill from her hands. She eyed it for a moment, raised an eyebrow and looked at Sayaka again "We are damned"

"Any idea on what to do?"

"Follow my lead" They leaned back again, realizing then how much attention their not-so-low whispering had attracted. "I'll pay with a credit card"

"Perfect. Wait a moment please" as he turned around Kyouko grabbed the other girl by the hand.

"When I say run, you run" Sayaka was way too distracted by the sudden contact to process what the hell was going on.

"Wait wha-" "Run!" Kyouko pushed her chair back, literally jumping from the table as she dragged Sayaka behind her.

They were making their way to the entrance, the waiters to slow to be able to stop them in their tracks. They heard random complaints from behind, but kept their pace up. But when they were about to leave, the fat lady from before blocked the exit.

"What a rude pair of gi-" before she could berate them, Sayaka had already thrown a glass of water from a nearby table. Her make up was running through her face, the dress that barely fit her dripping wet.

"Let's get out of here!" Using the distraction for their advantage, she was now the one to pull Kyouko behind.

They finally arrived at the apartment. Sayaka closed the door behind her as she leaned into it with a deep exhale. After they lost the waiter they kept running through the streets as good measure, so they where both panting heavily. Kyouko walked towards the couch and threw herself on it.

"I can't believe we just did that" Sayaka was the first to speak, pacing around the room "We stole from them" she suddenly turned to face Kyouko "You! If it weren't for you this wouldn't have happened"

Instead of answering with words Kyouko's first reaction was to laugh boisterously. "Did you see her face when you threw the water? Priceless!"  
Sayaka sighed loudly, smiling slightly at the fresh memory. "Still, what we did was wrong…"

"Tell you what. We never talk about this again and I'll buy us food tomorrow"

"Well I guess there's nothing to do now. It was _your_ fault after all" she calmed down, sitting besides the redhead.

"Deal?" Kyouko asked stretching her hand.

The bluenette rolled her eyes and copied the gesture "Deal"


End file.
